


A Road Trip or Something

by whenshewrites



Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [72]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alpha Derek Hale, Derek Hale Deserves Nice Things, Derek Hale Loves Stiles Stilinski, Derek Hale is Bad at Feelings, Derek Hale is Not a Failwolf, Derek Hale is a Softie, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Humor, Idiots in Love, M/M, One Shot, Originally Posted on Tumblr, Romantic Fluff, Stiles Stilinski Loves Derek Hale, Stiles Stilinski is Derek Hale's Anchor, The Hale Pack - Freeform, Tumblr Prompt, soft
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-04
Updated: 2020-06-04
Packaged: 2021-03-04 00:42:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,574
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24534805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/whenshewrites/pseuds/whenshewrites
Summary: Stiles cherishes nights like this. When Derek tucks him into bed and says things he never thinks Stiles listens to.
Relationships: Derek Hale/Stiles Stilinski
Series: A Collection of One-Shots and Tumblr Prompts [72]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1956889
Comments: 13
Kudos: 522





	A Road Trip or Something

It was another usual stakeout. 

‘Usual’ meaning Stiles had gone through his snacks about two hours ago and his stomach was starting to growl again. Derek hadn’t touched his protein bars and when Stiles’s stomach made a particularly loud noise, he sighed and pushed one over. Stiles crowed in triumph and took it, peeling off the wrapper.

“You know, Sourwolf,” he said, taking a large bite. “These aren’t terrible, but you should let me pick out your snacks next time.”

“You went through a bag of skittles, hot cheetoes, and a packet of Reeses in twenty minutes. I don’t want to corrupt my arteries, so no thanks.”

“But dude! The corruption is the best part!”

Derek gave him an unimpressed sideways glance. Stiles sighed and slumped deeper into his chair, peering out against the night. They were alone on the street. Nothing else moved.

“Tell me again, what are we here for? You know, other than stuffing our faces and getting bored out of our minds.”

“Jackson thinks his new neighbor is a supernatural of some kind. It’d best to check and make sure.”

“Oh yeah,” Stiles said, scratching at his nose. “Why are we listening to Jackson again? The douchebag probably just thinks his neighbor isn’t good enough to live on his block, so he’s setting the pack on the poor guy.”

Derek grunted noncommittally. Stiles sighed.

“Can we play music?”

“No.”

“Not even some of that eighties that you like so much? I’m drowning in my own thoughts, Sourwolf, this is serious. Do you know what it’s like to be stuck in my brain?”

“I’d imagine it’s a lot of bagpipe noises,” Derek said drily. “Playing all the time as loud as possible.”

Stiles glared at him. “For your information, it’s much more festive than that. Imagine dance music and flashing neon lights.”

“That sounds even worse.”

Stiles rolled his eyes and slouched down deeper into his seat. He moved to prop his feet up on the dashboard, but froze when Derek shot him a murderous look. Lowering his feet back to the ground, Stiles sighed again. Loudly. Derek’s face tightened a fraction and Stiles found that hilarious, sighing one more time.

“Stiles,” Derek said, his jaw ticking. “I’m going to gut you.”

“That’s rude.”

“I can literally hear you thinking of ways to annoy me right now. You’re not smooth.”

“Excuse me, Sourwolf, but I am thinking nothing of the sort.”

“Why did I bring you with me again?”

“Because of my charming personality and witty banter. You know the rest of the pack would let you down on both ends.”

Derek grunted. But it wasn’t a sound of denial and Stiles thought that was saying something. He grinned and tossed an arm behind his head, cracking his neck from side to side. Derek winced at that.

The werewolf was a total baby when it came to popping bones. During the time they’d spent together, Stiles had started to realize that. And he exploited every part of it.

Suddenly, the man sat up. Stiles flailed around until he was straightened too.

Coming down the driveway of the house was a shadowed figure holding a couple of large trash bags. Stiles leaned forward, but couldn’t get a good look at him. The guy looked up and down the road before dumping them into his trashcan, and then hurried out of sight. Stiles blinked a few times.

“Okay, that seemed a little suspicious.”

“He was throwing away trash.”

“He looked like he was getting rid of a dead body. Oh! Derek! What if he was getting rid of a dead body?”

Derek just rolled his eyes and turned the keys in the ignition. He kept the headlights off and drove slowly past the house; Stiles jumped out when they got close enough and flipped the trash can lid opened. Except, instead of a dead body, he was looking at… what seemed like animal entrails. A couple candles burned all the way down. And something that smelled suspiciously like wolfsbane.

Stiles gagged and stumbled back into the Camaro. Waving for Derek to start the car, Stiles breathed in and out of his mouth for a few seconds. He felt nauseous for a little longer.

“What was it?”

“Animal guts, candles, and wolfsbane. Nothing good,” Stiles said. Derek’s face tightened and he cursed.

“Warlock.”

“Dude, seriously? That’s what we’re dealing with?”

“Those things must’ve been from some sort of ritual. Nothing good comes out of warlocks and their spells.”

Nothing good came out of them for the poor animals Stiles had seen, that was for sure. He tried to shake those images from his mind, resisting the urge to gag again. Derek cast a concerned look over.

“You alright?”

“You know, it warms my heart when you care, Sourwolf.”

“I don’t care.”

“You do and I adore it,” Stiles said. Derek’s face tightened and Stiles snorted, rubbing a hand over his face. “I’m fine. Tired and a little nauseous, but fine.”

“I’ll take you home,” Derek said. Stiles waved a hand through the air.

“Dad’s working a nightshift. Lemme crash at the loft.”

Derek gave him a dubious look. Stiles only rolled his eyes and shifted into a better sitting position. The wrappers of his snacks crinkled underneath his feet. 

He crashed at the loft more than he did at home lately, with his dad being loaded with longer and longer shifts. Stiles knew he was proving his worth for his badge, but he still hated coming home to an empty house. It was just too quiet.

Derek didn’t say anything, shifting lanes and heading in the other direction. Stiles grinned to himself.

He was half asleep by the time the Camaro rolled to a stop. Stiles blinked blearily against the darkness and before he knew what was happening, Derek had moved around the side of the car and opened up his door. Stiles huffed as Derek helped him out, leaning up against the man’s side.

“You’re such a softie, Sourwolf.”

“Shut up.”

“You are,” Stiles said. “The softest Sourwolf in all of Beacon Hills. No one could ever rival your gooeyness.”

Derek grunted and Stiles could practically hear him rolling his eyes, but the man didn’t say anything else. He just wrapped an arm around Stiles’s shoulder and guided him toward the loft. It was so dark out, Stiles could barely see two feet in front of him. But Derek didn’t let him trip over any of the stairs.

“Are the rest of the betas here?”

Derek tilted his head and listened for a second, then slid the loft door open. “Asleep.”

“Next time, make Isaac and Erica do the nightshift.”

“They’ll tear each other apart.”

“Yeah, but it’ll be so hilarious. I swear, they bicker like literal kids. Literal kids with claws. That’s an accident waiting to happen.”

Derek chuckled, leading him around the couch and down the hall. Stiles could hear faint snores coming from behind closed doors and for some reason, that made him smile. He nearly stumbled over his own feet, cursing loudly, and the snores paused for a second. 

Then they started again.

“You know,” Stiles said as Derek led him into the last bedroom. “If you’re not careful, I’m gonna start thinking you care about me.”

“Of course I don’t care about you. Whatever gave you that idea?”

“Cause that’d be bad for your reputation, wouldn’t it?”

“Fatal.”

“You’re a real catch when you sarcastic, Sourwolf,” Stiles said sleepily. “You should be sarcastic more often.”

“But then it’d lose its charm.”

Stiles laughed quietly to himself. He’d never admit it out loud, but he treasured nights like this. The nights when they’d done too much research, stayed awake for too many hours, or chased after a monster for too many days. The nights when Stiles nudged at Derek’s walls and Derek let them down.

When Derek tucked him into bed and said soft things that he never seemed to realize Stiles listened to.

“Guess the warlock’s a tomorrow problem,” Stiles said, dropping onto the bed and burrowing into the mound of blankets and pillows. Derek climbed into bed on the other side.

“Guess so.”

“You know,” Stiles said, eyes already half-closed. “One of these days, we’re going to get out of here. A nice break from everything, when there’s no monsters or witches or warlocks to go after.”

Derek didn’t say anything. Stiles sighed into his pillow.

“Like a road trip or something.”

“A road trip.”

“Or something.”

Derek chuckled and Stiles felt gentle fingers stretch out and touch his own. He sighed in contentment and didn’t pull away; he never did. He never did and never would, and Derek knew that.

The silence passed for a long moment. Stiles steadied out his breaths and heard Derek shift around. He could feel the man’s eyes on him for a second. Lingering, quiet. He could almost taste the sadness of the man on nights like this. When sometimes he would just watch until dawn came.

“I'm gonna end up breaking your little heart in two,” Derek whispered into the darkness. Stiles’s heart twisted and after a moment, Derek settled down again.

One day, Stiles was going to prove him wrong. He’d promised himself that before and he’d keep promising until it came true. Because his heartbeat hadn’t skipped earlier; one day, they were going to leave this place. Him and Derek. Derek and him.

A road trip. Or something.

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the Tumblr prompt 'I'm gonna end up breaking your little heart in two' and the soft feelz kind of got away from me. As always, the comments and support you guys leave makes my day. If you want me to write a prompt, come DM me on Tumblr!
> 
> [tumblr dumpser](https://when-she-writes-stuff.tumblr.com/)


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